Sunday, December 17, 2017

If you've read this blog for awhile (and sheesh, it's been awhile), you know I loooooove me some New Year's Resolutions. I know not everyone does. But I do. And a woman in her thirties knows what works for her and does those things.

This past year I was even more adamant than ever about keeping my resolutions. That is because every day feels like a new smack in the face of the crazy reality we are living in right now. (Remember when I first started this blog and I called my new city Pleasantville? Oh man, do I have some stories to tell you!) I can't control all of what is happening right now, but I can control my small portion of energy I put out into the world. So here's how it went:

1. My word of the year was no. AND I LOVED IT.

I said a lot of no this year. It was magical and beautiful and wonderful. I skipped out on a bunch of happy hours (actually, a lot of wine in general- turns out my body really doesn't like wine) and felt ZERO guilt about saying to no heading/chairing/hosting/participating in any number of worthwhile things that were not great uses of my time.

Did I say no to everything? Of course not. I said yes, actually, to a lot of really, really important things, things I feel passionate about and causes I wanted to support. I was not less busy this year, not in the least. I was just busy with other things.

But that is the point of this resolution: 'No' is not my default word. But having this resolution be in the forefront of my mind forced me to be very intentional about the things I said 'Yes' to. I didn't always succeed in this, but then again, there is no end to the amount of decisions a woman in her thirties makes every day.

This resolution will definitely make a reappearance in 2018.2. See Hamilton

It was everything.

3. Stop Helping People Who Don't Want Help
God, this was freeing. I found myself at the beginning of the year having to stop myself from offering unsolicited opinions, but by the end of the year it was much easier. I've done a loooooooot of listening this year. I've read a lot of non-fiction, been extremely selective about where I get my news (bye bye, HuffPo!), and not used any energy fighting with people on social media, which for the love of god is getting us nowhere.

There has been plenty of help to give this year, and I've given a lot of it. But (mostly) only where it's been wanted.

4. Write
So, here's the thing. I have written two books this year! Hooray!

Hold up. I finished a novel I had been working on and re-read it. You guys, it's terrible. I hate it. So, in the slush pile it shall remain.

I DID finish a book for work. It's a book on marketing. Don't laugh- I'm actually super proud of it. It will come out at some point in 2018.

I'm also helping to write a book that has been all kinds of fun and an incredible learning experience for me. More on that later.

So you have to trust me on this one-- this resolution did happen, but not in the way I had anticipated. And that is totally cool.

5. Enjoy

Have I mentioned that my kids are the awesomest? I have really made an effort this year to enjoy our time more. And that's easy to do with these guys: